Irish Immigration Stereotypes

During the 19th century a wave of immigrants from Europe arrived throughout the United States. While there was a large and diverse population of immigrants, an overwhelming majority came from Northern Europe. Immigration was clustered around the countries most affected by economic devastation. As Germany and Ireland were both experiencing economic hardships, more than 60 percent of immigrants into the United States came from those two countries. During the 1840s, Irish and German immigrants arrived to America as two new ethnic groups who left their country in search of economic opportunity as farmers and craftsman, however the Irish were stereotyped as poor and unskilled farmers who fled the potato famine, while the Germans were harder to stereotyped since they were skilled professionals who sought political asylum.

The Irish first came to the United States to escape the potato famine which lasted for six years in Ireland and killed over a million people. The potato famine was a disease that devastated

The Irish often felt like they were not welcome in America since many employment advertisements said " no Irish need apply." The Germans weren't stereotyped as much as the Irish, but the German were often seen as hard working and clean. the Irish and German immigrants both were stereotyped by the United States in job interviews and by people in the country. However since the Irish came as young women, who settled at the east cities and had to do domestic and industrial work, unlike the Germans who came as single man who settled more to the west and conquered more land. Since the Irish had such a large population that at times even outnumbered the whites, the Irish were hated and discriminated against, while the Germans were a smaller group who was more accepted. The Irish and Germans were still treated as outcasts, though the Irish more than the